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Last week it was necessary to lump some teams together and pretend they were all the same, but enough separation happened to put the following back into their own pigeonholes. Akron's No. 13 spot is starting to form a buttprint.
| Team | Last Rank |
Riffraff | |
1 |
|
1 | Northern Illinois: So here's their new case for being the No. 25 team: They're 6-2, have an average MAC margin of victory of about 25 points, and that Iowa State loss — who just dethroned Texas — suddenly doesn't look so bad. |
2 |
 |
T-2 | OHIO: I thought about Temple here instead, but something scares me about this team ... and not in a detrimental way. The Miami game was pivotal, and they almost cakewalked through it by forcing turnovers and taking advantage of field position. |
3 |
 |
T-2 | Temple: And they have a case for the No. 2 position, especially after a flawless 42-0 game, and double-especially now that both their running backs are healthy and the defensive line is somehow more ruthless. Please be gentle to Akron. |
4 |
 |
T-2 | Toledo: They're still perfect in the conference, but it might help their image if they don't keep falling behind by two-plus touchdowns in the first quarter. Oh ... EMU is this week? Okay, one more week, and that's it, I swear. |
5 |
 |
T-2 | Miami: The ride was fun atop the MAC East while it lasted, and the memories will last ... well, probably a couple more months. At 4-4, make it a keen goal to finish with seven wins, wouldya? |
6 |
 |
T-6 | Western Michigan: It has to feel good to score 50+ points in a game, don't it? The fun news for this medium-strength team is they have three more games (CMU, EMU, BGSU) where that can be done. |
7 |
 |
T-6 | Kent State: There was that defense that I was salivating over to start the season, that finally showed up at the end of October. As much as they're struggling, shutting out Bowling Green's offense is not easy. But only 30 points? C'mon, guys. |
8 |
 |
T-6 | Central Michigan: Yes, they're that bad. And it's not just the quarterback's fault, as much as everyone would like to gravitate toward that position. They're going from spread to pro-style, and Michigan fans can tell you that changing schemes can sometimes be a painful process for everybody, not just the signal caller. |
9 |
 |
T-6 | Buffalo: New goal: figure out the starters for next year ... this year. Secondary goal: find a guy with legs and arms who's healthy enough to play tailback. Third goal: give Turner Gill a call, see if he wants to come back. |
10 |
|
T-10 | Eastern Michigan: They scored 21 points against a weak ACC team (Virginia) and somehow scraped together 20 against one of the best Big Ten teams (Ohio State). And then just 6 against a tepid SEC opponent (Vanderbilt.) I guess, using the Ypsilanti Bell Curve, we know which power conference is #1. |
11 |
 |
T-10 | Ball State: They've attained the ability to jump on teams early. This we know, and it's certainly more than the two teams below them can say. However, they can't really hold onto the lead very well. That's the sign of a team that gets jazzed up for games and then runs out of steam. |
12 |
 |
T-10 |
Bowling Green: [louder sobbing] [brief stoppage in tears when replaying kickoff touchdown in head] |
13 |
 |
13 |
Akron: You probably inferred this about a winless team, but it still looks pretty bad: "there was exactly one reporter interviewing [Akron coach Rob Ianello] after Saturday's game. Might be a record for an FBS coach." |
